The fragile secret of a strong shinobi
by Azshalaria
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha struggled with many fights in his time but nothing prepared him for the one he was about to face. Does he follow his heart or follow his head? Who knows. All Sasuke wanted was to finally feel alive and find some way that he could tell her, just how much she meant to him.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

The air in Sasuke's apartment was crisp. The window had been opened for a few hours and he let the cool breeze of the afternoon captivate him. Sasuke enjoyed sitting peacefully alone in his apartment, it was the only time he could truly be alone with his thoughts and not be interrogated by Naruto asking him what he is thinking of.

Sasuke did not want Naruto to know what was on his mind. More like who was on his mind. Sasuke has always been a strong shinobi, had a tough front, a brave face and a defensive attitude. It was almost as if he didn't want anybody to really get to know him at all accept for one person which he always desired to know. The beautiful Hinata.

Hinata Hyuga was a quiet and simple girl, fairly fragile. Sasuke had barely ever spoken to her before but when he did he could not deny the backflips his stomach performed and that's why he loved his alone time at home so much. So he could be alone with his thoughts of Hinata. Sasuke had not lost a fight in a long time but started to feel that he was losing the one within himself.

To show his true emotions or not to show his true emotions. That was his question. After all, Sasuke had a bad boy image to keep up with and confessing to Hinata would make him vulnerable. Sasuke did not want to seem weak and show that this fragile girl had all this power over him.

The sun began to set and the gentle remains of light beamed through the window of Sasuke's apartment. Sasuke sat on his couch slumped down. In front of him was a bottle of sake that was fairly full and an empty glass with remaining droplets of the alcohol left in it as well as some of his weapons. Sasuke was very good with a kunai knife; he seemed to hit the bullseye every time he would strike.

Angry at himself for being so confused about what to do with his feelings, Sasuke had knocked over the bottle of sake to reach for a kunai knife that he threw at a picture of Orochimaru, which he had on the wall. The kunai landed between his eyes. Sasuke lived alone and did not care about the mess at the moment; he just wanted his head to stop playing games with him. Walking through his apartment to his bathroom, Sasuke placed his hands on either side of his face and mumbled to himself _'Ahh, stop! Stop it! Stop thinking about her so much!' _but no matter what he did, images of Hinatas smile continued to haunt him.

Sasuke turned his shower on to hot water and removed his clothing before getting in. The feeling of the water piercing his body was soothing and he had his eyes close to focus on feeling every drop of water that landed on him. This felt good he though. Just as Sasuke thought his mind began to run clear, he had an image of Hinata in the shower with him. Startling himself, Sasuke opened his eyes and sighed almost in fear. Was he really that crazy about her? Something had to be done.

After the long hot shower, Sasuke dried himself then wrapped the towel around his waist. The towel hugged his hips perfectly and if anyone was to be a peeping tom, they would see his tight and perfectly crafted abs.

Sasuke decided to clean up the mess he made of the sake and then get an early night. He had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be a long day.

It was 7 am when Sasuke awoke to a banging on his door. Naruto Uzumaki. That's the only person it could be and he was right.

'Hey Sasuke! Hey, wake up! We have a mission in an hour and I want to have breakfast before we leave so come on hurry up and get up!'

Naruto annoyed Sasuke every time they saw each other, without fail. In about 2 minutes flat Sasuke walked through his front door to the grumbling sounds of Naruto's stomach.

'Hn. Not exactly the first noise I want to hear in the morning, Naruto.'

Sasuke almost always spoke to him in a displeased manor.

'Err what my stomach grumbling?'

'No. Your voice'

Clenching his fists in the air in frustration, Naruto growled back,

'Ahhhh! Saaaasssukee! You don't always have to be a jerk you know! You are stuck with me and you are stuck with Sakura! We are in the same team!'

A blank sigh escaped Sasuke before he told Naruto how he felt about his team mates.

'Sakura I don't mind as much as you. She at least has a brain but not enough to understand that I don't want her, but you Naruto are just flat out annoying.'

Naruto growled back again but he knew to some extent that Sasuke was right.

'Come on then grumpy lets go meet Sakura and Kakashi for our mission brief. All I know is that we will be working with another trio but I'm not sure who yet'

'_I hope we are going to be with Team Kurenai. Hinata is part of that team...' _Sasuke Thought to himself.

'Sasuke, what up?' This is why Sasuke liked to be alone sometimes. Naruto always wanted to know what he was thinking.

'Idiot! Nothing. Why do you think you need to know everything about me?! It's one of the most annoying things about you!' Sasuke said as he gave a hard smack to the back of Naruto's head.

THUD

'Heeeyyy! Sasuke! Why do you have to keep hitting me?'

'Why do you have to keep asking me things when I clearly don't want to talk about it?'

'Alright, sheesh I won't pry!' Naruto said as he rubbed his head.

'Come on Naruto, I can see Sakura standing by the academy waiting for us.'

'Late. Late as usual!' Sakura seemed impatient but that was nothing new.

'Sakura come on its 8:30 and we got here on time like we were told to!'

Naruto always had something to say.

'Oh not you Naruto! Why are you so stupid not everything is about you! I'm talking about Kakashi sensei! He is late every time and you know that so just shut up you idiot!'

Sakura shared Sasuke's feelings for how irritating he was. Sakura gave Naruto a smack on the back and was close to grinding her teeth over how frustrating he was.

'Ahh what... What is it with people and hitting me?' Naruto had mumbled to himself.

'Ah! Goo-good morning Sasuke! Isn't the sunshine just beautiful today?'

Sasuke responded with his famous 'Hn' and then crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the ninja academy.

'_The sunlight is beautiful'_

Sasuke thought to himself.

'_I wonder if Hinata can see it'_

Team 7 decided to enjoy sitting in the sun together as they would wait for their team leader, Kakashi Hatake.

Sitting in a classroom of the ninja academy, team 8 sat before their instructor Kurenai for their mission briefing.

'So what are we doing today, Kurenai?' Kiba had asked.

'Today our mission is a joined one. We will be working with Kakashi's team'

The three students before her each had a different reaction to Kurenai's answer.

Kiba seemed annoyed 'Ahh man! Are you serious? Ahh I can't believe that Akamaru and I have to put up with that loser Naruto and that arrogant jerk Sasuke!

At the mention of Sasuke's name, Hinata gasped for air but not loud enough for it to be noticed and also no one noticed her blushing. This was lucky she thought. For the longest time Hinata had a crush on the knucklehead shinobi, Naruto Uzumaki but in the past months Hinata noticed how her heart strayed from Naruto and landed onto Sasuke. She did now understand why and couldn't imagine what it would be like to be Sasuke's girl but all she knew was that her feelings for him are much greater than they ever were for Naruto.

Hinata felt it to be easier if the world still thought her heart belonged to Naruto. She would not have to explain anything and she could keep her feelings to herself. There was only one person at this time that Hinata could trust with her life. Someone who has always been there for her and been a mother imagine. It was Kurenai. Kurenai knew all Hinatas secrets even the one about not loving Naruto anymore but instead, having her heart for Sasuke.

'Humph. As long as no body disturbs me and my bugs, I don't care who we are working with' this was about all Shino Aburame ever had to say. His bugs were the most important thing to him and as long as no body tried to come between them, he didn't mind what the mission was.

'I-I-I think I-it will be goo-good to work wi-with a-a-another team' Hinata was one to stutter, she was always so gentle and shy and it caused her to stutter mainly when she was nervous but then it just kind of became natural to her.

A smile upon her face, Kurenai instructed her team further.

'Come on then team! Let's go meet with team 7'

As Kiba, Shino and Hinata followed Kurenai to meet with the others, Hinata couldn't help but to think _'I think I will still pretend to like Naruto for a little longer... I don't think I am hurting anybody and I want to know if I should show that I like Sasuke... So many other girls do... It already is a tough competition and who am I to think I could win? No one knows who he likes, if he has a heart for anyone at all that is! Oh... I don't know... I will just have to wait and see'_

Kurenai could see that Hinata was having a conversation with her inner self and decided to wait until the end of the day to approach her.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

'Sorry I am late; I walked under a ladder and...'

'AAAHHHHH NOT THIS AGAAAIIINNN!' Naruto yelled at Kakashi, interrupting his reason on being late, though Kakashi still kept a positive yet humorous gesture to his face.

Kakashi made his way over to his team and began explaining the tasks of the mission ahead for the day. Naruto and Sakura payed attention to Kakashi but Sasuke seemed pre occupied and had no idea on what was being said.

'Got something better to do Sasuke?' Kakashi crossed his arms and asked the dangerous question to the young Uchiha, he knew this may spark his temper. Sasuke wanted to say yes but he did not feel like causing too much of a scene.

'Hn. Kakashi Hatake. A man who is always late for his team and has the nerve to question me? I should be asking you the same thing. Why is it you are always late?' Sasuke had a point there and the others knew it as this silenced their sensei. With a stunned look upon his face, Kakashi only had little to have for himself.

'Uhhh well you know. I tend to some... Other stuff. Things that do not concern you Sasuke so no need to fret' Kakashi ended his response with a somewhat warm smile though really he wanted to move along from the topic.

'I didn't say I was concerned so if you think that I was then you are clearly mistaken'

Bringing his palm to his face in frustration, Kakashi sighed as he grew sick of Sasuke's attitude.

'I am just going to tell you again about the mission but this time Sasuke, please do pay attention. I do not want to have to repeat myself yet again.'

'Hn.' Sasuke sometimes felt as if he had to have the last word, especially in an argument.

Sasuke turned the other way and it appeared that he was not paying attention but Kakashi could tell that he was. Shutting his eyes and keeping his thoughts on Hinata, Sasuke again felt the strain of his issue; it seemed as if there was not much left for him in Konoha unless he did something about it. Sasuke spent many years with the desire to kill his brother, Itachi, and now that he has done so, he only has one thing to keep him going, one thing that he truly wanted just as much as his brother demise and that was Hinata Hyuga. Everyday Sasuke would think of how he could pursue her without any drama because he had one big thing holding him back.

Ever since Orochimaru placed the curse mark upon Sasuke, he has craved to have the Uchiha as part of his evil army but Sasuke has been too strong and without fail, has always resisted the painful calls of Orochimaru. Sometimes Sasuke can hear Orochimaru speaking to him, trying to convince him to give in and reminding him to not involve anyone too close in his life. Orochimaru knew that if he hurt someone that Sasuke truly cared about that he would only desire to kill him and not join him so knowing this, Sasuke decided not to purse Hinata. Orochimaru could not Sasuke as an enemy.

'_I wonder when I can see her face again' _Sasuke thought to himself. Even though he could not find a way around his problem, he still loved to see Hinata out and about with some hope that he could make her his own.

'Oww Kakashi, why do we have to work with bug boy and dog boy? Hinata is okay but I don't like those other guys!' Sasuke opened his eyes and perked his ears to the sound of Naruto's voice.

In the distance, team 7 could see team 8 approaching them. Sasuke was happy to be working with Hinata today even though he thought that her heart belonged to Naruto. Hinata could not explain to herself too much on why she did not like Naruto anymore. He didn't do anything wrong or say anything out of line but out of the blue, Hinata did not desire to be with him any longer. Many a time did Hinata question her feelings but only one thing has made sense to her.

It was not too long ago that Sasuke left Konoha to find and kill his brother. His eyes seemed to permanently be activated with the Sharingan and his body covered in patterns that had been dispensed from the curse mark upon his neck. Sasuke was the best looking boy around and always had an army of girls wanting to be his. Hinata had always told herself that if Sasuke was to choose one girl that it would not be her as she seemed to shy and weak but little did anybody know that just like those other girls, Hinata was greatly physically attracted to Sasuke.

No one thought that Sasuke would return, they all imagined that if he did kill his brother or if his brother killed him that they would never see him again. Much to the surprise of everyone, Sasuke did return to Konoha and he was safe. Many girls had yet again tried to continue to be with him but as Sasuke walked through the gates of Konoha, he only looked into the eyes of one girl.

Hinata was shocked that upon Sasuke's return he looked at her in the eye without breaking contact for a few seconds and then she could swear that she saw him smile at her. It was ever since the moment that Sasuke and Hinata locked eye's that the heart of Hinata Hyuga belonged to Sasuke and not Naruto. Hinata had thought to herself... _'This… This is all you ever wanted and you have done it now… so why have you come back Sasuke? Have you… come back just… for me? To look at me once more?'_

Hinata thought that this could only be wishful thinking or just flat out incorrect, but her gut instinct was telling her to stay with it. Her gut feeling was right but she did not know this.

'Hello Kurenai' Kakashi greeted with a wave and a smile.

'Kakashi. Students.' Kurenai gave a firm nod as she greeted. She wasn't an uptight woman, but Kurenai knew that Kakashi had his eyes set on her but Kakashi did not know that she knew. Kurenai did not know how to feel about this so she always seemed to give Kakashi a rather cold shoulder.

'Well now that everybody is here, let us all talk about the mission today.' Kakashi could finally give his speech and hopefully it would be for the last time.

'Now listen up guys. There are loggers working just outside the west gates of Konoha that are collecting the purest form of wood to create weapons, furniture and other important things we will need and use here in Konoha. The problem the loggers have is that some young punks have been performing works of arson and setting the trees on fire, therefor people are losing money and the materials are scarce. Now, our mission is to find any traps or flint for starting a fire that have been planted and remove them. Also, if you just so happen to catch any punks then you know what to do with them. Send them straight to lord hokage and he will deal with them accordingly.'

After Kakashi spoke, Kurenai then took over. 'We have decided to pair you up and work together in finding any information. This is why we are working together, so we can all spread out and do as much as possible also, it will strengthen team working abilities. Kakashi, will you please pair the students up?'

'Okayyy hmmm...' Kakashi crossed his left arm over his chest and put his index finger and thumb from his right hand to his chin.

'The two with the dojutsu can go together so Sasuke and Hinata, get to it.'

Sasuke was excited to be working closely with Hinata but did not know how to feel about it seems as he did not know how she felt. Hinata gasped at Kakashi's ordered then gave a warm friendly smile to Sasuke.

'_Ahh that smile.. How I would love to kiss it' _Sasuke thought to himself.

'Hinata, is there a problem with being paired with Sasuke?'

'O-oo-oohhh! No-oo Ka-Kakashi Sen-Sennsei. It is jus—t fin-ee' Hinata responded as she twiddled with her two index fingers.

'Oww why can't I be with Sasuke?!' Sakura asked Kakashi as she angrily clenched her fist and stomped her feet to the ground.

'Because I am pairing you with Shino, Sakura now get to work!' Kakashi had just about had it with all the young girls having a crush on Sasuke and Sakura seemed to be more determined than all of them, well, that is apart from the young Ino Yamanaka of course.

'AHHHHHH BUT I HATE BUGS!' Sakura because somewhat furious but just like most young girls, she did not like bugs at all.

'Learn to get over it Sakura, you are a shinobi now.' Sasuke added.

The sound of his voice always made Sakura excited.

'Ahh okay Sasuke…I will try to learn to be strong… for you!' Sakura said as she completely changed from upset to determined.

'Come on Shino! Let's go!' Sakura said as she tucked Shino by his shirt and lead him in the direction of where they were to look for clues.

'Ughhh great. This means it's me and the mutt.' Naruto said as he crossed his arms and turned the other way in a young, immature and childlike manner.

'Naruto just don't get in my way and we will be fine!' Kiba was not a fan of Naruto, he found him to be possibly the most obnoxious person alive.

'Come on Akamaru, we have some sniffing around to do!'

Kiba got down on all fours alongside Akamaru and together they ran to a section of the fields in which the loggers had been working to try and sniff out any suspicious.

'Hey, Kiba wait for me!' Naruto yelled as he struggled to keep up with the speed of Kiba and his companion.

'Well Hinata, let's get going' Sasuke quietly spoke as he turned to walk away and begin the mission for the day.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Hello my lovely readers

I am sorry to not be frequent with my chapters but as you know life gets busy.

I hope you enjoy this next chapter and thank you all for the wonderful reviews

'Hinata, scan the perimeter with your Byakugan and tell me if you see anything.'

Sasuke commanded, he was used to being a leader as at times Naruto and Sakura would be too clumsy or idiotic to focus on something important.

'O-okay Sas-suke. What w-will you do?' Hinata responded in her usual timid tone. Hinata was used to taking order or following a crowd seems as she was quiet and generally she didn't mind it either. She could never imagine herself as a leader.

'I am going to take a good look at these loggers. See if any of them aren't… two faced.'

Upon Sasuke's response, the pair split ways but still remained somewhat close to each other. Whilst looking for any set up booby traps or fire traps, Hinata felt nervous about working so personally with Sasuke even though he was roughly 100 metres away from her. Taking a look at almost everything in sight, Hinata could not find any traps what so ever and decided to see if she can't help Sasuke.

Observing the loggers working, Sasuke had a look on his face that could scare away the toughest of men. The Sharingan eyes set in full and a grin that looked as if he was ready to pounce on any one who was about to make a wrong move. Basically his facial expression said 'Try me, I dare you'.

The sound of footsteps behind him perked Sasuke's ears up. Turning his head slightly to the side and reaching down to his kunai pocket Sasuke thought 'I better make this fast' and in the speed of light, he launched himself towards the noise that startled him. Next thing he knew, his left hand was at the back of this person's neck and his right hand held the kunai knife to their throat. Only centre metres in distance was his eyes to hers, it took Sasuke a moment to realise it was Hinata before him.

'_Is she.. blushing? No I don't think so, after all I am the infamous Sasuke Uchiha and I have a kunai to her throat. She must be petrified.'_

Releasing his grip and then apologising, Sasuke felt a little embarrassed. Embarrassed that he did not pick up that it was friend not foe and embarrassed that he got this close to Hinata unintentionally.

'Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I Hinata?'

Sasuke saw what one of the most frightened faces possible was and by god he has seen many. Hinata was blushing but it was more to do with fear of Sasuke cutting her throat then being close to him in general. Getting herself together again, Hinata took a step back and did her usual twiddling of her index fingers.

'Umm I-Im sorry if I startled y-you Sasuke. No, I am f-fine.. I just wanted to see… If you have f-found anything y-yet..?'

Sasuke usually did not feel much for people but Hinata was a different story. He felt that he was being a jerk to the girl he wants so badly.

'I am sorry Hinata, I did not mean to scare you. You should not apologise for something you have not done.'

Hinata rested her chin to her chest as she stared at the ground, still twiddling her fingers.

'Okay Sasuke. Th-Thank you.'

At his confusion for being thanked, Sasuke questioned the quiet girl.

'I almost cut your throat. Why are you thanking me?'

'Umm well you s-see.. I am t-thanking you for a-apologising to me.'

Did not many people show Hinata gratitude or any kind emotion? Sure Sasuke was not perfect and certainly was not kind to most people but he could not imagine someone trying to blame anything on Hinata. She was so fragile and always wanted to do right wether she was afraid of it or not. Hinata was a mystery to Sasuke.

'I haven't found much but this one guy... something seems a little off about him'

Sasuke pointed to one of the loggers to show Hinata what he meant. Observing him with her Byakugan, Hinata could see that Sasuke was right. Something was definatly not right with him. He was not your average logger. With his Sharingan still activated, Sasuke approached the logger and was face to face with him. Both Sasuke and the logger had a blank yet serious look on their face. After staring into the loggers eyes for a moment, Sasuke gasped, widened his eyes and jumped back grabbing a kunai from his pocket and yelling out to Hinata 'Hinata! Don't drop your guard! This is no logger… he is an imposter performing a transformation jutsu.'

The imposter showed and evil giggle and finally spoke.

'Very good Sasuke, I tried to cover my jutsu with my chakra but it seems you still found me out'

With the cloud of white smoke surrounding the imposter disappearing, Sasuke saw that it was Kabuto in front of him.

'What do you want Kabuto!?' Sasuke was furious now. Had Orochimaru send Kabuto to do some of his dirty work? Sasuke wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Hinata was currently feeling very afraid, not only did Sasuke just have his kunai to her throat but now Kabuto was here and she was afraid that he would attack.

'Sasuke as I am sure you have already realised, I have no interested in the logging of wood, It was all just to get you on a mission so I can meet with you. If you want to find the real logger I will return him to you but you have to do something for me first.'

Kabuto had a way of getting on Sasuke's nerves; he managed to do it every single time they met.

'What makes you think I would give you anything?'

Sasuke was not only pissed about the appearance of Kabuto but he knew that he was unpredictable with his actions at times and was hoping that he would not go near Hinata or try to harm her.

'Sasuke, listen to me and listen good' as Kabuto began to speak again, he formed numerous hand signs and aimed then towards Sasuke, making him cringe in pain from his curse mark. Sasuke fell to his knees in agony, moaning and grunting over the pain.

'If you do not do as Orochimaru pleases, then there will be great consequences. Come with me now or this girl behind you will share the pain you are in.' upon his words, Kabuto did not expect what was coming. Sasuke has been known to be very cold and at the best of times would only care for himself.

'If you hurt her Kabuto… I will kill you in the most slow and painful way possible.'

Both Kabuto and Hinata dropped their jaws at the same time.

'_Does Sasuke care for her? Ahh this is no good... We cannot have this'_

Kabuto kept his thoughts to himself but remained with a stunned look on his face.

'_Sasuke…. You would... kill for me? Sasuke… I hope… I hope you care for me... like I care for you'_

Hinata was shocked of Sasuke's words. She wouldn't have thought he would say something like he did and it made her feel a little more safe. Sure it meant someone would die if they tried to hurt her, but Sasuke was known for how strong he is and Hinata knew she would be safe.

Releasing his power on Sasuke, Kabuto stepped back and said 'Just think about what I said' and then he vanished. With Kabuto now gone, Hinata approached Sasuke to give help him to his feet.

'A-are you o-okay now?'

It was a struggle for Sasuke to get back to his feet and Hinata even helped him with walking.

'Take me to Kakashi sensei. I need to have a word with him.'

Putting his arm around Hinatas shoulders for support, the pair made their way back to Kakashi to fill him in on their encounter with Kabuto.

'Orochimaru, I have news from today'

Kabuto appeared before his leader, bowing and not looking forward to the following conversation.

'Please tell me it is good news Kabuto, I am tired of being told that no progress has been made'

Orochimaru was seated in a large armchair with a rather displeased look upon his face. Kabuto slightly flinched at Orochimaru's words; he knew this wasn't going to be good.

'I came across Sasuke today. I activated the curse mark and gave him the message but… I believe we may have a problem.'

Orochimaru had a stone idol on his lap that was of some worth as it resembled the third hokage but with his frustration he controlled it with his mind and threw it to the wall behind Kabuto in anger.

'WHAT?! WHAT IS THE SET BACK NOW?!'

Orochimaru ran up to Kabuto and was shouting in his face with pure anger in his body. Kabuto again flinched in fear before speaking.

'It seems that Sasuke cares for someone. I may be wrong but… when I threatened to hurt the girl with him, he threatened to kill me in the most slow and painful manor when usually he would not bother to even care'

Orochimaru sighed deeply and began to wonder.

'Ever since he killed Itachi it has been hard to get him to come to me and I have not the army to go and get him. I guess I will have to re think my actions.' Kabuto listened to his leaders words and knew he had to think fast.

'Orochimaru, hear me out. Sasuke longed to kill Itachi and he want to many lengths to do so. Maybe now we just have to find someone he wants to kill just as bad and have him on our team.'

'Hmmm you know Kabuto, when you disappoint me you sometimes find a way to redeem yourself. But who can we get to piss Sasuke off enough to make him want to kill him? Maybe let us observe his life and see what we can make of this'

'Yes my lord!' Kabuto left his leaders side to observe on Sasuke's life and hopefully make some progress.

Kakashi and Kurenai stood together and spoke about the mission but were interrupted by the sight of Hinata and Sasuke approaching them.

Kakashi ran up to Sasuke to help him and was worried he was in danger.

'What happened!?' Kakashi asked as he leant Hinata a hand.

'Hinata and I ran into Kabuto'


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Hello all,

As I post more chapters I am getting more followers and I just want to say I love you all for it and it encourages me to write more. I hope you enjoy this next part to the story and maybe drop me a review, tell me what you think about it

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

As expected, Kakashi was shocked to hear about Kabuto. Aiding Sasuke back to health, his mind was running wild and trying to think of what Orochimaru would be planning. The attack on the hidden leaf village was not successful and left Orochimaru without the ability to use his arms. What could he possibly want now? Tsunade, the fifth hokage will not give Orochimaru his strength back so does he want Sasuke to do his dirty work? Kakashi was unsure but wanted to get down to the bottom of it.

'Sasuke, what exactly happened?' Kakashi asked in fear.

Getting to his feet and struggling to do so alone, Sasuke tried to act tough even though he was in pain.

'Kabuto wanted me to go with him and of course I refused. I don't really care what Orochimaru wants with me. I have no interest on destroying this village.'

Sasuke had a problem and it was the existence of Orochimaru. He wanted him dead so bad but knew that even without his arms that Orochimaru could overpower him with Kabuto and the Akatsuki by his side. Sasuke did not know what move to make.

'Hinata, can you accompany Sasuke to lady Tsunade? She needs to be informed on what happened and needs to heal Sasuke.' Kurenai agreed with Kakashi with a sharp nod. If it was anyone else to accompany Sasuke then he would be in protest and go alone but instead Sasuke just looked at Hinata and then the ground before agreeing. He didn't mind being in her presence for a little longer. Before heading off, Sasuke had one last thing to say.

'Kakashi, I think the mission needs to be changed. The wood being burnt should not be a problem anymore but one of the loggers is missing.' Just as the words flew from his mouth, Sasuke and Hinata made their way to meet with the hokage and Kurenai locked eyes with Kakashi in fear of a dead logger and wrapped up the day by calling in the rest of their teams and informing them. Kurenai decided she would meet up with Hinata later to talk to her.

Shizune was in front of lady Tsunade's office doing some paper work and humming along to a soft and happy sounding melody until she was interrupted by Hinata and Sasuke approaching her.

'U-um hello Shi-Shizune. May we pl-please see lady Tsunade? Sasuke is h-hurt and he needs h-help.'

As usual, Shizune was her emotional self and seemed to over exaggerate.

'AAAHHHHHHH YESSSS HE IS HURT RIGHT THIS WAAAYYYYYYY' she screamed as she hurried to open the door to Tsunade's office.

Shizune was so loud that sometimes people were convinced she could deafen somebody in another village. As Shizune opened the door, she Hinata and Sasuke caught a glimpse of the hokage with her hands over her ears whilst squinting her eyes.

'Shizune… how many times do I need to tell you…? DON'T SCREAM SO MUCH!'

Tsunade slammed her hands down on the table in anger and glared at Shizune in anger.

A blank look upon her face, Shizune responded with 'Uhhh but lady Tsunade.. you just screamed at me..'

This only infuriated the hokage even more and made her signal for Shizune to leave the room then bring a hand to her forehead and sigh deeply.

'What can I do for you? You do not look so good Sasuke, come over to this couch and I shall take a look' Tsunade made a motion towards the couch in her office so she could investigate on Sasuke. Looking over his body, she knew that it would not take her long to heal him but had a feeling she would not like how he came to be like this.

'What is it that has brought you to me? Who did this to you Sasuke?' Tsunade held her hands over Sasuke and emitted a green chakra that was healing him.

'It was Kabuto. He was hoping I would go with him and attend to Orochimaru but as you can see I resisted.'

Eyes widening and jaw dropping, Tsunade gasped for air and felt a frightening shiver run down her spine.

'I will be fine Tsunade. Orochimaru can't do much without his arms and I doubt you will be giving him the power to use them any time soon. Just heal me and I will think of what to do'

Tsunade almost could not believe Sasuke's words. Hinata also stood in misbelief; she of all people did not know how to feel or what to say as she has not had much to do with the whole situation… or so she thought.

Tsunade felt as if she was in shock so much to the point that she dismissed Sasuke and Hinata right after the healing and just sat in her chair dumbfounded.

'What are you planning now, Orochimaru...' She fearfully whispered to herself as she buried her head in her hands.

After walking out of the office together, Hinata was still with Sasuke. She still felt bad that he got hurt and felt like she wanted to thank him somehow because after all… Sasuke would have died to protect her and she had not known that feeling for a long time.

'Sasuke... I-I want to thank y-you for sticking u-up for me... you would have f-fought so hard to s-save me..' Hinatas words stopped Sasuke dead in his tracks. Sasuke had an idea and that was that he would make an attempt on getting close to her and that he would try right now.

'Come back to my place with me Hinata. If you do, I will tell you a little about what is going on.'

Hinata was taken aback by Sasuke's words; she did not expect an invitation to his place at all. She figured maybe he would like a favour done for him in order to say thanks but Sasuke was unpredictable in Hinatas eyes.

'Oh O-okay Sasuke' Hinata slightly trembled as she spoke and began to follow Sasuke.

'_Do not be scared Hinata, I would never let any harm come to you and that is a promise I will make'_

Sasuke kept saying this to himself in his head over and over again and also tried to think of what he would actually say to Hinata when they arrived in his apartment. It wasn't like he could say too much to her, he didn't want her too involved because there was the fear of her getting hurt and Sasuke would not be able to live with himself if that ever happened. Finally the pair arrived at Sasuke's apartment after what seemed like an agonising walk. In reality the walk only went for about five or ten minutes but it was mostly silent and slightly awkward. Sasuke was happy to be home and he had Hinata with him, all alone.

'Do you want anything to eat or drink?'

'N-no thank you Sa-Sasuke.'

Sasuke nodded to Hinata and signalled for her to come closer so he could talk a little about Orochimaru. Sasuke stood in his kitchen leaning his forearms on the bench top of his kitchen as Hinata did the same on the opposite side and as he looked up at her, into her eyes… He wondered if he was going to let it all go and show his emotions. It would not be like Sasuke to show much emotion so he was curios of his own actions, he felt unpredictable to himself. As Sasuke began to speak, he went around his apartment and closed all blinds and windows so nobody was able to see in.

'As you know Orochimaru attacked the village not long ago and even though he failed to turn it to dust, the third hokage fell to his death. The old man used a sealing jutsu on Orochimaru's arms and that is why he cannot use them.'

As Sasuke finished saying these few words, he had finished closing the blinds and returned to the kitchen but was leaning against the wall instead of the bench top. Hinata was paying close attention to Sasuke but so far she knew everything he had said.

'Orochimaru asked lady Tsunade to give him his strength back but she refused therefor Orochimaru cannot do much himself but gets Kabuto and the Akatsuki to do his dirty work. The ultimate desire Orochimaru has is for me to be his right hand man and destroy the village with him.'

Hinata now seemed almost frightened which was no surprise to Sasuke.

'I am glad... y-you are h-here… y-you have made the ri-right choice Sa-Sasuke. But I wonder… w-what.. what is it you wa-want now? '

Hinata almost could not believe her own words as much as Sasuke could not but she was strong deep down and wanted to know why Sasuke came back to Konoha.

'What do you mean Hinata' Sasuke was worried that we would open up too much.

'You…you came back to Konoha and... Well... Why..? I saw you Th-that day you ret-returned…'

'_Uh oh. Here it comes. No one has ever seen what is coming'_

Sasuke's thoughts were right. He became emotional and he let it take over himself when he never has. A Shinobi, especially one such as Sasuke does not show emotion like this. Sasuke turned to face her, giving her full open body language.

'I have no desire to join Orochimaru. I have only done one out of two things I have always wanted. Itachi is now gone but so is my clan. I want to restore my clan, Hinata… I just cannot'

Hinata felt confused now.

'W-why Sasuke?'

'It's… complicated'

Hinata was more confused. Why could he not restore his clan? If he wanted to have his own offspring he could do so quite easily, couldn't he?

'This is one thing I do not know how to fix… I need to be… saved. Save me…'

Now Hinata was even more confused than before. Did Sasuke just ask for her to save him? Whatever did he mean by this? Hinata really did not know what to expect now.

'Sasuke… what.. what is it? Wh-what do you mean?'

Sasuke had it at this point. He needed to know what it felt like to at least touch Hinata and that is exactly what he did. With a daring look on his face, Sasuke slowly approached Hinata and stopped as the tip of his nose was only centimetres away from hers. Hinata spread her eyes and mouth open wide in shock and stood completely still.

Sasuke placed his hands just on Hinatas hips and lifted her then placed her so she was sitting on the bench before him. Hinata did not have such a shocked look on her face anymore although she was still surprise by Sasuke being impulsive, she looked sadder than anything. Is this all Sasuke wanted? Just to be close to someone? He never had the chance to be close to someone that HE cared about and Hinata could now tell the yes, Sasuke did Infact care. Sasuke and Hinata did not break the eye contact they had, each staring into each other's eyes mainly with the feeling of curiosity. Moving his hands around to her lower back, Sasuke slowly moved his fingertips up Hinatas back, feeling the curves of her body passing through his hand and treasuring this moment he has right now.

Sasuke's fingers tips on Hinatas back felt almost like a massage, so strong yet so gentle. Hinata could tell that Sasuke was honouring and respecting her. As a response to Sasuke touching her, Hinata placed one hand on Sasuke's cheek and felt him nuzzle into it more as she did so.

'Hinata... I don't know what to do... Save me…'

'What can I d-do Sasuke?'

For a split second Sasuke's mind felt as if it was elsewhere. He imagined a life with Hinata, their children running and jumping around trees and playing with them by the country. Then he had another thought and it was haunting. Hinata being tortured with such brutality right before his eyes and the life slowly leaving her eyes. This made Sasuke jump back and begin to pant as he began to feel fear.

'Wh-what is wrong?'

'Hinata I won't let you be in danger… maybe I should take you home now, for your safety.'

Hinata approached Sasuke and had no fear within her. The atmosphere was strong and the air could have been cut with a kunai but this doesn't scare Hinata. She may have been a shy and fragile girl but she was also very strong, mentally as well as physically.

'I…I… will go to s-see Kurenai sensei n-now Sasuke'

Hinata felt for Sasuke and felt almost helpless especially seems as he did not elaborate on his complicated situation. Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to reassure him that everything would be okay. Hinata hugged Sasuke and he stood still in shock of this. God it felt good to feel her touch. At this point Hinata did not know what else to say so she decided to leave. Releasing herself from Sasuke, Hinata walked over to the door and held the handle but was interrupted by Sasuke's words.

'Hinata, to answer your question before… What I want is...'

Sasuke was cut off by Hinata as she opened the door and told him 'I k-know Sasuke… you w-want to be f-free' Then she walked out of his apartment and went to find Kurenai.

Even though Hinata left already Sasuke still finished his sentence. He closed his eyes, kept a still look on his face and felt a painful tear strike his cheek.

'You….'


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Hullo

I hope you all are enjoying the story so far and I apologise for not being frequent with updates! Work is keeping me nice and busy; finding me time is getting hard!

Anyway I just wanted to add that although this story is based on Naruto and the events are based from the show that this is still a fan fiction story and things will be different. Certain events and such may not be in the same time line as the show but that's where my own originality comes into play.

I also have not seen all of Naruto yet so please bear with me as I continue on with my story.

Send me a review or a PM about what you think you would like to see happen, ideas from fans are always taken into account and I shall do my best to work it into my ideas. Let me know what you think!

Moving on! I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

Enjoy

As Hinata left Sasuke's apartment, she rested her back and her palms against his door performing a deep sigh full of confusion. _'Where did that come from Sasuke?' _Hinata had wondered. Hinata straightened herself up and walked away towards Konoha leaf academy. During her walk, Hinata had a conversation with herself in her head about the day's events. First, being paired with Sasuke. Secondly, Sasuke standing up for her like he did, and then the slightly awkward hug she received in his apartment. She had some idea now of how he felt.

'You look like you're deep into thoughts. What's on your mind, Hinata?'

Taken by Kurenai's words, Hinata shot her face up and gave a warm smile and 'Mmmm'

'K-Kurenai sensei.. some.. something happened today.. with… Sasuke.'

Kurenai gathered enough that this would be the situation; she still wanted to talk to Hinata since the morning.

'What is it? Are you okay?'

'Yes sens-sei.. Sasuke.. would have fought for me. H-He stood u-up for me against K-Kabuto and then…'

There was a pause mid through Hinatas sentence. She began to twiddle her fingers around and stare at the ground, a blushing colour appearing upon her cheeks. Kurenai was not sure what was about to be said. She was the only one who knew of her real love for Sasuke and was beginning to feel frantic, not knowing what happened. Kurenai played a motherly type role in Hinatas life so just as a normal mother would be, Kurenai began to worry.

'Hinata…. What happened?'

Feeling Kurenai's comforting hand on her shoulder, Hinata found the strength to lean her face up and tell her about the afternoon. Hinata could trust Kurenai with her life.

'Well.. Sasuke.. He… He did something I… I did not expect. He he-held me… He was so ge-gentle with me. He lifted me up..up to the bench and he mo-moved in closer to me and he he-held me. He seemed af-afraid of something and afraid th-that I might let go of him…. He just wan-wants freedom.. I do n-not know what from but… He seemed hurt wh-when I left..'

Kurenai was shocked. She did not expect this. Removing her hand from Hinatas shoulder to her own chin and cheek, Kurenai looked at Hinata with confusion before she spoke again.

'Is this not what you wanted? And wow… He really is a mystery… But atleast now you know something.'

'I-Im sorry, kn-know what, sensei?'

'It seems to me Hinata that Sasuke Uchiha is in love with you'

Back in Sasuke's apartment, the whole world seemed to freeze. Sasuke stood standing in the same spot just staring at the ground, running everything over in his head. Frustration slowly taking over him, Sasuke began to pant. Slowly, then faster and faster, heavier and faster as each pant came along. Clenching and unclenching his fists, he finally pursed his lips together harshly and adrenaline made him pick up a chair in his right hand and throw it at the wall. The wooden chair snapped into pieces.

After realising what he had done, Sasuke had his back against the wall. He then sent a backwards hammer punch behind him leaving a whole in the wall. He needed to blow off steam. Burying his hands in his face, Sasuke wondered if anything could ever go right for him. Replaying the whole day in his head, he needed some time to think of a solution and what a better way to clear the mind than some extra training.

Sasuke headed for the academy.

'_Maybe practising my tai-jutsu will help me blow off some steam' _was what he thought.

Entering the empty academy, Sasuke was happy to be able to train with some peace and quiet. To get ready to sweat it all out, Sasuke removed his shirt and shoes before putting on his wrist wraps and heading over to the punching bag. Taking a deep breath before he started, Sasuke prepared for the punching bag to be his victim. Routines of straight punches, uppercuts and hook punches were to begin with then followed with push kicks and round house kicks. Sasuke then incorporated all of these moves into one nonstop routine, performing a full body work out. He was definatly sweating now and panting heavily.

After roughly 10 minutes straight oh working hard, Sasuke stopped and hung his left around the punching bag. He was beat, but wanted to keep pushing. He could do more than 10 minutes hard work.

'I held her… I had her so close to me… and It was ruined!' as Sasuke said the word 'ruined' he sent a jab to punching bag. 'cut short!' another connecting jab to the punching bag.

'She basically could have just rejected me straight out' this time Sasuke spoke more calmly but then sent three punches and a roundhouse kick to the punching bag. He kicked so hard that the punching bag almost felt off its hook.

'Heey slow down big guy! Don't want you to tear the academy down.'

It seemed that Sasuke was now no longer alone. Slowly turning around, Sasuke did not know what this familiar face was doing here.

'Kiba. Why are you here?' Sasuke said as he continued to pant from exhaustion.

'Hey don't fret; I like to come here with Akamaru after hours sometime to get in some extra training. I heard some noise and didn't know who was in this room so I wanted to say hey.

Sasuke said nothing. He returned to punching bag and began a series of continuous punches.

'Hey Sasuke!'

Kiba said as he approached Sasuke. Sasuke still did not respond and continued to throw punches.

'I'm glad I bumped into you. I need to talk to you.'

'About what?' Sasuke spoke but did not stop punching.

'You came back hurt today from the mission and Hinata did not have a scratch on her'

This made Sasuke stop, though he still wanted to act cool. Pretending to be more tired than he was, Sasuke his arms by his sides before crossing them over his chest.

Sighing as he turned to look to Kiba, 'Kiba, What is your point?'

'Nothing. I just wanted to say thank you for protecting her. I don't know what happened out there but Hinata was not hurt one bit. Thank you Sasuke'

Sasuke did not expect to hear this but he was grateful for being recognised like this. Still trying to act cool, Sasuke turned back to the punching bag and resume with the punches.

'It was nothing but uhh.. thanks.'

Kiba knew of Sasuke's personality so he just smiled and told him 'No problem! Hinatas safety is important. She is the only girl on my team and I like to know that she is okay'

Sasuke began to feel jealous. Does Kiba have feelings for her? Or is he literally happy about the wellbeing of his fellow team member.

'You sound fond of her, Kiba' Sasuke stated. He did not ask, he stated what he thought was a fact.

Putting his hand through his own hair at the back of his head and smiling with a short laugh

'Well you know I kinda am! She is beautiful, smart and cute and I have a soft spot for her'

Kiba had no idea that Sasuke was in love with Hinata. He also didn't jerry that Sasuke saying, 'You sound fond of her, Kiba' seemed a little out of line for him.

Kiba kept smiling and Akamaru contributed with two friendly barks before he was stunned with a loud noise. It was a very hard punch to the punching bag as Kiba finished his sentence.

Thinking fast, Sasuke had to speak up.

'Kiba I am training here I would like to do so in peace.'

'Uhh right… sorry Sasuke… I guess I'll be going now' and as Kiba began to leave, Sasuke's punches become stronger. He did not like completion. He had to move fast.

'Do you really th-think so Kurenai sensei?'

'Well yeah, I don't think Sasuke would bother trying to be close with a girl unless he did not love her.'

'Congratulations Hinata!' Kurenai smiled and cheered. Hinata and Kurenai made their way towards the Hyuga house not realising that they had an eavesdropper sitting in a tree high above them.

'Hmmmm so Sasuke is in love with Hinata Hyuga… That is why he protected her like that… This will not do.' Kabuto said to himself as he grunted then disappeared to find his lord.

'Lord Orochimaru! I have news.' Kabuto informed as he returned to the den of his master.

Orochimaru shifted in his seat and turned his head till he cracked his neck with pleasure.

'What is it now Kabuto? I grow tired of no progress so you better have something good for me'

Although he would not show it or admit it, Kabuto was afraid of Orochimaru. He knew that even though Orochimaru could not make use of his arms that he could still have him killed. Performing a short gasp and making a small 'O' type shape with his mouth, Kabuto spoke.

'Forgive me my lord, but I have information on Sasuke. I believe that Sasuke is in love with no other but a Hyuga girl. Hinata.'

Orochimaru grunted. He was not pleased. Growling and standing up from his chair, running to be face to face with Kabuto, Orochimaru yelled..

'NOW WHAT DO YOU EXPECT WE DO HUH?'

'Kabuto this could not be worse'

'My lord, hear me out first!' Kabuto tried to make Orochimaru calm again.

'We want a reason to make Sasuke come and work for us...'

'FOR ME KABUTO! Work for ME!' Orochimaru screamed and Kabuto flinched, tensing all his muscles in fear. Squinting and keeping only one eye open now, Kabuto resumed.

'Yes lord Orochimaru. I am sorry. To work for you. What if we work on creating a new jutsu? One to persuade the emotionally weak to somewhat be mine controlled and then use it on Hinata. Make her join us first and then convince her love struck puppy Sasuke to join. I bet he would listen. Is it not worth a try my lord?'

Orochimaru was taken back and began pacing the room and thinking of the occasion.

'We currently have no other leads to our success so until a better idea comes along, we shall try it… but not bad Kabuto, now get to work!'

Orochimaru ended in a frustrated manor. He only could hope that this would be a winning plan.

Holding his hand to his heart with honour and respect, Kabuto said 'Of course my lord' and then disappeared to work on creating the new jutsu.

Orochimaru laughed in a way as evil as can be. Being alone in his room, Orochimaru said…

'Ahh Kabuto I think I am starting to warm up to this idea. Come on Sasuke, let's see how well you listen to your leading lady, lover boy!'


	6. Chapter 6

Here comes the next chapter! I really hope you all enjoy it, exciting things to come and terrible things to come ooooooo what shall it be?! Read on my lovely's!

CHAPTER 6

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Sasuke awoke this morning with a few thoughts on his mind. Would he see Hinata today? Would he be given a difficult mission today? Would things get even worse for him? He did not know, but it was time to get up and find out. Still lying in bed, the white cotton sheets that lay tangled in Sasuke's legs, made it difficult to simply hop out of bed. '_I must have had a restless sleep' _He had thought.

Walking to the shower and still rubbing his eyes from being so darn tired, Sasuke had a feeling that this was going to be a long day. Stripping down to nothing and turning on the taps, Sasuke decided to have his shower cold to try and wake him up. Oh it worked. As the cold water droplets crashed into his body, Sasuke ached and moaned at the temperature but quickly shrugged it off and completed to wash himself. After turning the water off, Sasuke stood there for a moment. Perfectly still. Just thinking. Yep, thinking about Hinata. Sasuke couldn't help but feel as if now was the time to make a move. He was right.

Just as Sasuke decided on pursing Hinata, the haunting voice of Orochimaru pounded into his mind.

'Hellooooooo Sasuke! What have we here huh?'

Sasuke fell to his knees, cupping his ears with his hands; trembling and grunting in fear and pain as he listened to Orochimaru speak to him in his mind.

'I know about your little crush Sasuke. I hope you know to leave her alone too, otherwise things will be bad for you Sasuke hhmmmmmmahahahaha oh yes things would be VERY bad for you.'

Orochimaru made Sasuke's skin crawl, blood boil and teeth grind. He never knew it was possible to hate someone so much. Struggling to breathe as he spoke, Sasuke said aloud…

'You.. Leave… me alone! You leave… HER ALONE! Just….stop'

Orochimaru may have been the first person that Sasuke has ever begged too.

'Oooohhhhh hahahahaha is the great and powerful Sasuke Uchiha begging? Would you like a hug too?'

Orochimaru enjoyed knowing that Sasuke was quivering in pain but he still would rather Sasuke to join him.

'Just think about everything Uchiha… If you are smart then your precious Hinata does not have to get hurt… make the right choice! I know you will'

With the final sound of Orochimaru's words and his evil laughter, the pain slowly started to leave Sasuke. He felt lost. Sasuke really would like to have someone comfort him… Hinata. If only she could be his saviour.

Hinatas morning was sweet and homely. Waking up and having a leisurely stretch whilst her sheets moved serenely with her body. She really was a goddess, she just didn't know it. Most things that Hinata did seemed to be done with such pure heart and it all felt like a fairy-tale at the best of times.

Reaching for her gown, Hinata wondered into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for her younger sister Hanabi and her father Hiashi. Breakfast contained of Miso soup, aromatic jasmine rice, salmon and a mixture of seasonal vegetables. The smell was like a dream come true and it went so perfectly with the herbal tea that Hinata also prepared. Hinata had a wonderful bond with her sister Hanabi, she did however feel somewhat envious by her for taking her rightful place as heir to the Hyuga clan but she was still her sister and she still loved her. Opening her door with excitement to wake her up, Hinata smiled as she informed 'Wake up Hanabi! I have pre-prepared breakfast!' Hinata would barely stutter when speaking to her sister.

'Mm great thanks sis!' Hanabi smiled. So young, such innocence within her and Hinata treasured her sister as if she were her own child.

The Hyuga sisters walked down the hallway together to reach the breakfast table.

'Wooooahh this smells great sis! Thanks!' Hinata smiled as if to say thank you.

'Hanabi, you may begin to eat, I shall wake up father to come and join us.'

'Oh sis, I forgot to tell you. Father is attending some business for the clan right now, he told me not to wait for breakfast. He said he would be working whilst we still slept.'

'Oh okay Hanabi... l-let us just eat!''

Then as the pair sat in silence, they enjoyed a lovely meal together then readied themselves for the day ahead of them. Later in the morning as the Hyuga sisters bid each other a farewell at the academy, Hanabi left for the classrooms and Hinata left to meet with Kurenai.

Hinata found Kiba, Akamaru and Shino waiting for Kurenai to begin another day in their ninja lives. Hinata was an animal lover so seeing Akamaru everyday was always a joy for her.

A smile on her face and a slight giggle sent out towards her teammates, Hinata called out to Akamaru.

'Hey! Akamaru!' Akamaru also loved Hinata, he ran up to her and jumped up onto her as she knelt down to pat him and scratch his belly. Akamaru tried to lick clean Hinatas face off but Hinata held her head away and missed the sloppy dog kisses but continued to play with Akamaru.

Seeing his dog being so friendly with Hinata, made Kiba so happy. He wanted Hinata to be his girlfriend and the picture of her playing with his dog was like a dream come true for him. Little did anybody know that Sasuke was approaching the academy where they were, just walking and eating an apple.

'Alright now Akamaru, get off of her!' Kiba said friendly as he approached Hinata.

'Akamaru seems to like you even more everyday Hinata!' Kiba smiled and Hinata met his smile with one of her own. As Hinata began to stand up straight again, Kiba began…

'Hey umm Hinata… I was wondering…' Kiba was scratching behind his neck and appeared nervous. He wanted to ask Hinata out. Hinata did not know this though.

'Y-yes, Kiba?' Hinata was her friendly self and completely oblivious to the fact that Kiba wanted to her.

Sasuke decided now was the time. He overhead Kiba speaking and knew what he was about to ask so he decided to cut in. In his rage, Sasuke clenching his hand holding the apple, and the vibrant red fruit was squashed into pieces. In a fast paced walked, Sasuke cut the conversation short by approaching Hinata, taking her by the forearm and leading her away.

'I need to speak with you.' He stated, not caring that Kiba was there and cursing towards him for taking Hinata away from him.

Sasuke lead Hinata behind a tree approximately 50 metres away and then let her arm go.

'I didn't hurt you just now did I?'

'N-no Sasuke... but…but what is Th-this all about?' Hinata was still unsure if Sasuke knew about her mutual feelings.

Sasuke breathed in an exhaled deeply. He could not believe what he was about to suggest.

'How good are you with transformation jutsu's?'

Hinata definatly did not see that one coming. Completely the opposite of what she thought Sasuke would say.

'Oh umm... its… fi-fine but… why do you a-ask?'

Another deep exhale left Sasuke. It was now or never he thought.

'Hinata I cannot say much as to why… but… I need you.'

Hinata moaned in slight confusion.

'Wait… that's not just all of what I meant.'

Hinata held her reassuring hand on Sasuke's shoulder and she smiled, waiting for him to speak again. She was so beautiful when she smiled; it was like her eyes were smiling with her perfect lips.

'Tell me, Sa-Sasuke…' Hinata had wondered if now was the time she would get the man she wants.

'What happened in my apartment between us… do you understand why I acted that way?'

Hinata did not speak; she more so moaned as if to 'Uhhh kinda' and tilted her head to the side.

'It's because….. Well… I am confessing to you Hinata. I know it may seem strange to you, but it is true.' Sasuke tilted his head down. There were only two people in the world that could make Sasuke feel completely different to the usual way he was. It was Orochimaru and Hinata.

'Just as you left my apartment… I was saying… That what I wanted… is you.'

Hinata felt her heart flutter and grow warm. She knew nothing was going to be easy form here on in but Sasuke was who she wanted so she was more than ready to try. Hinata also was ready to let him know that she loved him back.

'Tell me, Sasuke… It's okay.' Sasuke was shocked. This was the first time he heard Hinata not stutter and it made him feel like she trusted him. He started to get it now, that Hinata felt for him too. The impulsive Sasuke came back into play and in this very moment, Sasuke had no fear, no pain and nothing to set him back. Now was the time.

With his right hand, Sasuke took Hinatas left hand, pulling her into him and placing it on his right shoulder. Sasuke connected by landing his right hand to a spot just above Hinatas hips. Nose to nose, the pair did not break eye contact. A volcano could be erupting in the background but they would not notice it. This moment was too precious to the both of them.

'Tell me that you want to hear it' Sasuke whispered. He felt safe now.

Placing her right hand to Sasuke's cheek, she responded…

'I want… to he-hear you say it' With Hinatas words, Sasuke knew that was the last straw of his self-control and there would be nothing holding him back now. Putting his spare hand on the other side of Hinatas hips, Sasuke filled in the small gap between with a firm pull and exhaled a sigh of relief and with haste, he said 'I love you so much' as he gave Hinata their first ever kiss. Those daring, spoken words made both of their stomachs drop and heart flutter, it was a good feeling, so warm and safe. It was more beautiful and perfect then Sasuke could have ever imagined. Hinata was just as involved as Sasuke was. The pressure that the pair had pressed against each other was intense; lips moving to what seemed like the rhythm of the most beautiful song ever made. The kiss must have been going for at least one or two minutes without a break.

Hinata and Sasuke ended their first kiss with a gentle respect for each other. Sasuke had a dazed look on his face, close to panting over the intensity of the kiss.

'Now i-its time you know…'

Sasuke had hopefully eyes glaring into Hinatas beautiful blue orbs.

'I love you too, Sasuke'. Sasuke could not help himself now; he pulled her back in for another kiss. Again she did not stutter and it was her saying how she returns his love. This was what he wanted his life to be about. Just her.

After another earth moving kiss, the pair decided to spend a moment in each other's arms before heading back to Konoha leaf academy.

Sasuke did not want to make too much obvious just yet so as the pair walked back to the academy, they kept a small distance between them.

'Sasuke… Why di-did you ask me about… transformation jutsu's?'

Sasuke almost forgot about that.

'If I am to see you in our spare time… I would like to use a transformation jutsu so we appear not as ourselves when we meet… this is for your safety. I do not want to draw any unwanted attention to you.'

Hinata felt as if she understood but only partially. She did not want to question why Sasuke would like things to be this way, she figured that he had control of the situation.

'O-okay… I can do th-that. We will transform in-into common folk?'

Sasuke nodded, not wanting to go into too much detail right now.

'Yes… But not for long. I will not have us torn apart.'

Sasuke and Hinata stopped walking and turned to face each other. Hinata smiled.

'I trust you'

'_Damn, Hinata you know how to make me feel good' _Sasuke thought as he returned her smile with one of his own.

'HEEEEYYYYY THERE YOU ARE GUYS! WE HAVE BEEN WAITING COME ONNN!'

Yep you probably guessed who the loud, obnoxious voice belonged to. Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto spotted the pair and couldn't see from the distance that he was at, that Sasuke had Infact smiled. Sasuke liked this, it was game face time again.

'Naruto, is Kakashi in yet?' Sasuke asked the blonde ninja as he approached.

'Uhh no but Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Kurenai and I are waiting.' Naruto responded.

'Idiot' Sasuke smacked Naruto on the back of the head, the usual response for Sasuke.

'Owwwchhhh hey! When are you going to stop hitting me?'

'When you stop being an idiot…idiot! We cant do anything without Kakashi telling us what to do today so chill out!'

Naruto was rubbing his sore head and spoke 'Gee alright fine Sasuke, but we are working with the others again today' Naruto turned away and began to walk back to the others in fear of getting another whack.

Hinata held her hand to her mouth and giggled at the troublesome boys that were before her.

Sasuke winked at her and motioned to walk towards the others.


	7. Chapter 7

Hiya!

I see people are happy that the lovely two are together now! I am really glad that people like my story so far I want to now write more about the connection and relationship between Sasuke and Hinata, I also want to write about Orochimaru's terribly, evil ass! I hope you all continue to enjoy!

Onwards!

CHAPTER 7

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Sasuke and Hinata approached their teammates to get on with the day.

'Finally' Shino stated, as he was very unimpressed.

'What's your problem?' Sasuke asked, not breaking his eye contact with Shino. Sparks seemed to fly between the two and not the good kind.

'My problem is that for some reason you are holding back my team mates which then hold me back. I do not like it one bit.'

Sasuke started to get annoyed with Shino closed his eyes and fists tight then slowly reached for his kunai pocket.

'That's enough Sasuke! Settle down.' Kakashi seemed to arrive just in the nick of time. Kakashi rested his hand on top of Sasuke's that was on top of his kunai pocket, encouraging him to leave it alone. Sasuke released his tension and stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest and looking the other way.

'It-It's okay Shino… Sasuke had done nothing wr-wrong' Hinata added as she did her famous twiddling of the fingers. This caused everyone to stop and face Hinata and then making her blush.

'What are you saying Hinata? That Sasuke was not a bother to you? That you didn't mind being around him?'

_Tchh, gee! Shino really gets on my nerves, I wish I could hit him _Sasuke had thought to himself.

The two teams still looking at Hinata kept starting and then Hinata finally spoke.

'I don't mind… Sasuke is wo-working with us so I…I think it's good for us to get al-along.'

Hinata had made a good point and Shino knew this but did not want to show that he did.

'Whatever' Shino was not pleased.

'Heyyyyy come on Shino! Lay off Hinata, she is a good girl alright just stop making such a big deal over nothing!' Hinata was happy that Kiba fought to stand up for her; she sent him a shy yet thankful smile. Sasuke did not move his body an inch but his eyes moved to Kiba and observed the way he looked at Hinata. His blood started to boil and his heart began to race. Jealousy was a trait Sasuke did not think he had. Was Kiba going to try ask Hinata out again? Was Sasuke unable to stop it?

Kiba walked over to Hinata and asked to have a word with her.

'Hey Hinata, seems as _Sasuke _Interrupted what I was going to say before…' Emphasis on the name Sasuke.

'Y-yes Kiba?' Hinata dazed at Kiba with a queried look on her face.

_This is it… Make me proud Hinata_ Sasuke had thought.

'Do you think that… maybe sometime you wanna… you know, I mean… go out with me sometime?'

Hinatas face dropped. Her mouth made an O shape and her voice fell even more fragile. Even though Sasuke knew that Kiba would try asking her out, it didn't make it feel any better. No, Sasuke still wanted to punch Kiba.

'W-w-well we are part of a te-team Kiba… We see e-each other so… so much… I see you as a… broth-brother. Im… sorry Kiba.'

_That's my girl. _Sasuke felt pleased with himself and enjoyed seeing Kiba's face begin to frown.

'AAAAAAAAAAAAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHA KIBA! YOU LOSE MAN HEY DON'T YOU KNOW THAT HINATA WANTS ME? Don't Ya Hinata?!' Naruto shouted as he ran up to Hinata and placed an arm around her, he always made a scene at the worst times, just like a real idiot would do. Hinata still had everyone believing that her heart was for Naruto and had no reason to think otherwise also.

'Umm… I like… no-one…'

This was one more shock to the shinobi standing before her as many were sure that Hinata wanted Naruto. Sasuke was watching Hinata closely at this point; he did not want her to give anything away.

'Huh?! Oh uh… okay Hinata' Naruto added he turned to walk away, confusion striking his as he scratched the back of his head thinking about the situation.

All of this really embarrassed Kiba.

'Ahh anyway, don't be sorry Hinata, I guess you can't help who you do or don't like… but you can't blame a man for trying!'

Kiba tried to seem positive about it all but knew he was feeling terrible about it. With this whole situation, the atmosphere changed from normal to awkward very fast. Kurenai then spoke out to break the ice.

'Well now that we are all nice and embarrassed, can we get on with it? Kakashi! Would you care to tell our students what we are doing today?'

Kurenai's words startled Kakashi, he was in a daze still over what just happened.

'Hmmm? Oh…right.' Kakashi then felt Kurenai's palm against the back of his head.

'What?! I was enjoying this little saga. Anyway, our mission today is to look for the missing logger. We will keep the same pairs as before and if anyone finds him leave one person by his side and the other come and grab either me or Kurenai. Split up now guys, I have a feeling that this logger is lying somewhere in pain.'

Everyone looked around at each other with a concerned look on their faces. Kakashi or Kurenai needed to reassure them of their own safety.

'If anything happens, just come and find either me or Kakashi. Everything will be alright, Just keep an eye out for possible booby traps or henchmen.' Kurenai decided to jump in and comfort everyone. She did not want to speak any more about it but she didn't imagine that Orochimaru or Kabuto would even bother with anything that had to do with the logger. He would now be no use to them; he either would be hurt and tied up and just tossed aside and killed. Kurenai was hoping to find him alive.

Everyone now got into their pairs and all made off in different directions, also hoping to find a live logger with no threatening injuries.

At first things were a little quiet between Sasuke and Hinata as they began their search for the missing logger. Not only did they not know what to expect but Hinata did not know how much contact she should be having with Sasuke in order to not give anything away.

'You can talk to me Hinata, you don't have to be too shy with me' Sasuke thought we would end the silence.

'Im so-sorry, I just didn't… didn't kn-know how much I should… Im sorry…'

Sasuke stopped to turn and face Hinata, and then looked around to see if anyone was looking.

The coast seemed to be clear.

'You don't have to apologise for anything. You have done nothing wrong.'

Sasuke stepped closer in to Hinata and placed his hands on her hips and pulled her in so they were nose to nose. Sasuke could tell Hinata felt a little unsure if this was okay but if Sasuke wouldn't do anything if it wasn't okay Hinata had thought to herself. Placing her hands gently on the back of Sasuke's neck, Hinata looked into Sasuke's eyes and within a second the pair had rubbed their noses together and shared a gentle kiss.

'Come on. Let's start looking in the place we ran into Kabuto' and with Sasuke saying this, the pair separated their bodies from each other and continued on with the mission. A rustling in the trees had caught Sasuke's attention as they made way, but he didn't want to seem too paranoid.

_It must have just been the wind _Sasuke said to himself; even though he decided to let it go he still kept his guard up.

'Hmmm, stupid Uchiha… it was more than just the wind. You crossed the line and now you will pay'

It seemed that Sasuke was right to feel paranoid even though he didn't know it and in a split second, Kabuto had teleported back to Orochimaru's den.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'Orochimaru, it seems like our young Sasuke has made his own choices.'

Kabuto knew this would not be good but something had to be done. Orochimaru was not 100 per cent sure if Sasuke would or wouldn't do what was good for him, but not that he had some kind of an idea, it was time for action. Orochimaru was not happy at all and he wanted to make it damn well known to Sasuke too. The time for action was now.

Trying to not lose his temper and speak calm, Orochimaru still had his fists clenched and ground his teeth just before he spoke.

'Alright then is Sasuke wants to play a game then I will play, I just hope he knows that I will win. I will make sure he loses EVERYTHING precious in his life so that he has NOTHING else worth living for! Then he will be certain to come with me. He wants power and for some reason he is resisting it from me. He can never be strong enough to defeat ME!'

Orochimaru lost his cool, he couldn't remain calm.

'What would you like me to do my lord?' Kabuto asked as he knelt down on one knee and bowed.

'I want you to strike Sasuke where it's going to hurt! The heart!' and with a quick flash, Kabuto was gone. Thinking of a way to hurt him, Kabuto wanted it to be rather significant but not quite the full blow just yet so he decided to do something that would definatly send him a message.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Retracing their steps, Sasuke and Hinata were determined to find the missing logger. Carefully scanning over the area they interacted with Kabuto, Sasuke and Hinata applied their full attention on the task ahead.

THUD

Hinata was startled by her own steps; she quickly jumped back and looked at the ground. Something seemed a little off. Sasuke heard the noise and ran over to where Hinata was.

'What was that?' Sasuke asked,

'The gr-ground… I think there m-may be a hid-hidden trap door be-beneath the ground h-here'

Hinata pointed to her footprint on the ground and Sasuke dropped himself to observe it further.

'I think you are right Hinata, come on lets push away some of this dirt and see what is underneath'

With a nod, Hinata also got down to the ground and starting moving soil around.

Bingo. There was a hidden door. Hinata and Sasuke looked at each other and then back down to the door. There could be anything behind that door.

'Stand back Hinata, I will open it'

'Be care-careful Sasuke, pl-please…' Hinata got up and took a few steps back and reached for a kunai knife. She needed to be prepared for anything. As there was a lock on the door, Sasuke found a nearby stone and smashed it off, it was now time to see what lied beneath. Without hesitation, Sasuke opened the door fast and also reached for a kunai to be ready. After some dust had flown away, the pair saw nothing but a staircase.

'I'll go in first; you keep behind me and get out if anything happens'

Hinata did not want to argue but naturally, she started to worry. It was scary and she didn't know what to expect. It could go well or not so well. As the pair began their way down the staircase, they saw nothing but a small open area and would you know it, the logger. His hands and feet were tied together and he had a gag over his mouth. He would have been passed out or even worse, Sasuke and Hinata needed to check him out but was being careful to avoid traps. Slowly walking towards the logger, Sasuke couldn't pick up on any traps around him and thankfully there was none. As he reached the man, he took his gag out of his mouth and noticed that this woke him up.

'Hinata, he is alive. Go get Kakashi or Kurenai, I will get him out of here.' Hinata was glad that he would now be safe and ran out to find her sensei.

As the logger began to wake, he found just enough strength to talk.

'He… he just threw me in here. I wasn't sure who… who he was but he beat me up and left me here to die. Please… don't leave me'

The logger begged for his safety, usually this is not the kind of reaction Sasuke has ever had when someone has begged him for their life. Usually he would take it away from them but this time, he was being the hero and didn't want to have to admit that it felt good to save a life instead of taking one.

'It's okay I found you now and I won't leave you. We will get you to the hospital. Did he do anything else?'

With the little strength he has left in him, the logger smiled to the best of his abilities and responded, 'No… he told me it wasn't worth… worth his time to kill me but that he would just leave… leave me here and let me die on my will'

Just as the conversation ended, Sasuke cut all the ties with his kunai knife and carried the man back up to the surface and there was Hinata, Kurenai and Kakashi just arriving to the scene. Not many words had to be said in this situation, Kakashi just took the logger from Sasuke's arms and said 'Thank you, you are both now dismissed for the day' then he and Kurenai sensei made haste for the hospital.

'I am gl-glad he will be okay n-now' Hinata said.

'That wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be.' Seems as the pair had some time left during the day, Sasuke wanted to consult with Hinata about spending more time with her.

'What are you doing tonight? Can I see you?' Sasuke asked his girlfriend, he could never get enough of her.

'No-nothing really, I should just g-go home and make s-sure that Hanabi has din-dinner and then I can meet with you?'

This made Sasuke happy; he was hoping to hold her tonight.

'Do you remember the picture on Kakashi sensei's book, Make out paradise?'

'Yes, w-why do you ask?'

'Transform into the girl on the cover on the book and I will transform into the guy and meet me tonight at 7 at the tree I first kissed you at this morning. Can you do that?'

'Yes, I-I will see you at 7 tonight'

With that conversation over, Sasuke and Hinata went their separate ways. It had turned out to be such a wonderful day for them both, excluding the slight awkward moment with Kiba and Naruto in the morning, overall it was a great day. Reaching for her key, Hinata grabbed it and then put it in the lock to her front door. She was so excited that she was able to see Sasuke again tonight and glad that the mission today was not as dangerous as she imagined it would be. As Hinata turned the key in the lock, she started to smile about everything. It was all so wonderful. Hinata heard the click in the lock and then opened the door and took one step forward before she dropped her key and widened her eyes. Her good day had just gotten really bad.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Cliffy!

So not only did I take my time with uploading a new chapter but what a way to end it!  
What do you think Hinata saw? Leave me a review and let me know your thoughts!

Enjoy your day/night!


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